Radius rod for motor vehicles



Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,923

L. M.'H.- SCHUMAN RADIUS ROD FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed May '7, 1925 gwumto c Patented Sept. 11, 19 28.

' mum) M. H. sonn'mnn,

or s ams-mm, I

" names-eon Fon MomonvnnroLns.

I a licationsieafmy' 7, 192% Serial 1m, 28,766.

' Tl1is"in-ventionrelatesto radius rods for motor vehicles and it-comprisesa plurality of divergent rigid rods extending froma central point adjacent the vehiclecha'ssisto the 5 endso'f thefrontaxle, said rods being pivotal-ly' mounted with respect to the I engine frame orchassisand so secured to the axle as to permit of free ro't ativ'e movement of the front wheels, and being so positionedasto ree '10 sist'to' a"highly eflicient degree shocks andtorsiona l s'tre'sses imposed on the 'axle "arising either in 1 normal service "or from 1 accidental causes and to prev'ent shimmey of the 'fro'nt wheels' a'llas -mor'e fullyhereinafter setforth 'an'd as claiiried.

the chasis construction employed in the. Ford type of motor vehicle, although it will be understood that the invention may also be ap- In the ordinary type of Ford motor, as made at the present time, the axle is given a slight pitch or cast toward the rear of the car, and the natural tendency of the axle is to turn rearwardly under the influence .of heavy shocks or strains.- In earlier types of Ford cars", this tendency was slightly resisted by the radius rods forming a part of the cars, which were secured to theupper side ofthe axle, and thus offered limited resistance to further deflection toward the rear. however, the standard radius rods on Ford cars are secured to the bottom side of the axles, and hence do not offer much compressive resistance to rearward deformations.

A particular effect of the present known construction resides in the. setting up of undue vibrations of the front wheels which interfere with satisfactory operation, and

mey effects. These effects are not overcome with the standard radius rods positioned on the bottom of the axle, as the axle itself, already turned rearwardly, may be bent still further rearwardly by shocks or heavy loads; a distortion that is not satisfactorily resisted by the radius rods secured to the lower side of the axle. In one aspect, the positioningof the radius rods below the axle, together with the rearward pitch thereof, creates a couple which tends to cause further rearward movement, thus increasing the shimmey effect.

According to the present invention, the distortions usually encountered in Ford axles at are prevented by providing a pair of aux iliary radius rods, extending from the jam jtiveposition The invention is particularly adapted to plied to other chassis for which it is adapted.

which are commonly referred to as shim tion of the standard radius rods to the-" extreme-end s'of the axlefandto a high point above the le ngitudin'al" linefthereof and a dvantageouslyattached by means "'of the spindle-body bolts} Means for 'effeotingthe,

aims .of'the' present invention are shown' 'in the drawing, wherein,

v i? F i'g. 1 is'aafront elei a tional view ofa front *axle o'fFord-motor car'; I 1 Fig. 2 1s adiagra'mmatic -'-plan iview-of a ":Ford chassis,= showing the 's'tandardiradius rods and the auxiliary radius rods in opera- "."Figi 3: is a detail in cros's section taken through-the :jun'otion ofethe radius rods-and partially revolved'; and,

Fig. 4 is'a fragmentary?plan view bf the auxiliary rods at the junction showing a ,manner oflapping the ends.

The axle shown in F ig.;1 is of regular or standard contour,and is indicated as a whole by thereference numeral 1. Each end of theaxle is formed with a yoke provided with an upper boss 2 pierced forthereception of a spindle body .bolt 4 by means of which the wheelelements are held in place, and which bolt is securedby means of a nut 5. Located inwardly from the extremities of the axle 1, and secured to the lower side thereof, area pair of radius rods 6, which converge inwardly to a common point adjacent the engine casing. It is; standard practice to secure the and the boss 2. I positionthe end of the rod as high above the outer terminus of the rod 6 as is convenient, thereby obtaining a maxi- Inurn leverage to resist strains or loads that would tend to turn the axle 1 rearwardly.

Forlike reasons, I position the endsjof the. rods 7 atthe extremities of the axle 1, as the increased angle of divergence of the rods 7 over the rods 6 serves to increase the resistance offered by the rods to bending stresses.

The rods 7 converge and join at the point of juncture of the radius rods 6, so that all rods turn from the same center and hence do not interfere-with the free turning of the front wheels. The ends of therods' 7 are lapped] front axle, and to prevent its rearward move- 7 or turned over the respective rods 6, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thus preventing shppage in a forward direction which would perinit the axle 1 to alter its vertical alignment. A bolt 8, provided with a nut 9, washer l0, and clamping plate 11, is employed to secure the rods 6 and 7 together in a satisfactory manner, and is positioned through an aperture formed through all of the rodsat their junction. I

As noted above,the rods 7 are so disposed as to offer a, high resistance to distortion of the ment. Such prevention reduces the development of shiminey effects, which would be augmented by increasing the rearwardcast or pitch of the front axle. Being disposed in different planes than the standard rods 6, the auxiliary rods 7 exert a maximum resistance to shock loads that would otherwise cause axle distortion or misalignment. The device not only functions under ordinary conditions,

butralso servesas a relief for accidental shocks. For example, under shocks due to collision, allof the load wouldnormally be thrown in a single line along either rod 6.

With the. auxiliary rods in place,thiscollision load is divided, part being taken-by the auxiliary rods 7 If either rod is broken, the other may still serve for emergency purposes until proper repairs can be made. Likewise. the divergence between adjacent rods 6 and 7 prevents all of such collision loads being transmitted to the engine casing in one line, i

iliary radius rods respectively extending from a point in common with the standard radius rods to the. extremities of the axle and to the upper side of the spindle yokev thereof, said rods being secured to the extremities of the axle by means of a spindle bolt adapted to receive and supportthe wheelassembly;

LELAND SGHUMAN. & 

